WEBVTT 00:00:02.700 --> 00:00:05.019 Hey, Pants people. I just wanted to stop real 00:00:05.019 --> 00:00:07.240 fast and say thank you so much for listening. 00:00:07.540 --> 00:00:10.519 We love getting to know you guys and interacting 00:00:10.519 --> 00:00:13.660 with you, whether it's on the Discord, social 00:00:13.660 --> 00:01:08.569 media, anywhere. So this one's for you. We hope 00:01:08.569 --> 00:01:10.349 when things seem bleak, but more important than 00:01:10.349 --> 00:01:12.629 anything, they inspire us. And I can think of 00:01:12.629 --> 00:01:15.010 no luminary's origin story that requires inspiration, 00:01:15.049 --> 00:01:18.989 nor is that of the silent luminary, Heloli. So 00:01:18.989 --> 00:01:20.810 if y 'all don't mind a bit of a long spotlight 00:01:20.810 --> 00:01:23.629 being told today, let's go in full detail as 00:01:23.629 --> 00:01:27.129 I recount this tiefling's tragic tale. Heloli 00:01:27.129 --> 00:01:29.750 was born blind, but never unwanted. Her mom, 00:01:29.810 --> 00:01:32.030 Susanuko, who chanted the mountains and hills 00:01:32.030 --> 00:01:34.930 of pale, loud -popped flowers, raised her as 00:01:34.930 --> 00:01:36.920 one of their own. These monks believed every 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:39.319 child was a thread in the local incarnate's weave 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:42.900 of fortune, even one who could not see. She grew, 00:01:43.060 --> 00:01:44.680 listening to the rhythm of the wind across the 00:01:44.680 --> 00:01:47.079 pop fields, the toll of the pedals flying in 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:49.040 the winds, and the steady hum of the monastery's 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:52.079 bells. Her perception grew keen, though rooted 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:55.060 in sound and sensation rather than sight. In 00:01:55.060 --> 00:01:56.819 time, she learned to pluck music from stringed 00:01:56.819 --> 00:01:58.640 instruments, finding that vibration and harmony 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:00.739 spoke to her more deeply than words ever could. 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:03.319 The shamisen seemed to connect to her innermost 00:02:03.319 --> 00:02:05.819 persona. The monks encouraged her unusual gift, 00:02:05.939 --> 00:02:08.240 allowing her music to blend into their meditations, 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:11.120 privileges, and horticulture. To them, she was 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:13.180 a living testament that beauty did not require 00:02:13.180 --> 00:02:15.740 perfection. Many claimed that her song brought 00:02:15.740 --> 00:02:17.800 the life of flowers joy and even sustenance. 00:02:18.460 --> 00:02:20.639 One night, as she walked the familiar paths between 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:22.599 the monastery and the flower fields, a presence 00:02:22.599 --> 00:02:25.900 took her hand. It was warm, almost reassuring, 00:02:26.039 --> 00:02:28.120 and though she could not see it, it spoke directly 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:30.900 in her mind. The voice promised her an audience, 00:02:31.060 --> 00:02:33.479 one who would appreciate her tremendous music. 00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:36.500 agreeing and interested in spreading the joy 00:02:36.500 --> 00:02:40.020 of her songs. She agreed. Blind, she did not 00:02:40.020 --> 00:02:42.340 know that she had been led to and crossed the 00:02:42.340 --> 00:02:45.419 threshold of the spirit realm. She only felt 00:02:45.419 --> 00:02:46.780 the cobblestones stretch beneath her feet, the 00:02:46.780 --> 00:02:49.800 scent of nightly smoke, the strange hush of anticipation. 00:02:50.439 --> 00:02:52.400 Plus, she carved beneath her feet and onto a 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:54.560 wooden platform. She took her place on stage 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:57.319 before a crowd of listeners. They sat and wrapped 00:02:57.319 --> 00:02:59.280 attention as her fingers danced across the strings. 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:02.039 The sounds of instrument rose mournful and bright 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:04.240 until the audience cheered. and clapped with 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:07.020 utmost joy. At the end, she was led gently back 00:03:07.020 --> 00:03:10.419 to her bed in the monastery, exhausted. The demon 00:03:10.419 --> 00:03:12.860 praised her performance, and with a smile she 00:03:12.860 --> 00:03:15.439 never saw, gifted her a shamisen of polished 00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:19.180 black wood. But the joy of this is twisted, and 00:03:19.180 --> 00:03:21.180 her dreams that nigh relive in the moment. The 00:03:21.180 --> 00:03:23.580 final applause became ragged screams, the laughter 00:03:23.580 --> 00:03:27.379 burning wails. Her lowly could not see the fire 00:03:27.379 --> 00:03:29.500 consuming them, nor hear the demon satisfy the 00:03:29.500 --> 00:03:32.139 laughter echoing over the inferno. The screams... 00:03:32.189 --> 00:04:02.860 The ghost of the audience had been no gathering 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:05.259 of nobles at all. They had been the living townsfolk 00:04:05.259 --> 00:04:07.539 trapped by her music, sacrificed by the demon 00:04:07.539 --> 00:04:10.280 burn while they danced to her strings. She grieved 00:04:10.280 --> 00:04:12.520 in silence, her new shamisen lying across her 00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:14.740 lap like a curse. The monks tried to comfort 00:04:14.740 --> 00:04:16.660 her, but she retreated further and further in 00:04:16.660 --> 00:04:20.620 what every note was poison, every vibration a 00:04:20.620 --> 00:04:23.740 reminder. Years passed before she met the luminary, 00:04:23.860 --> 00:04:26.300 a wandering Kenku master who carried the title 00:04:26.300 --> 00:04:29.459 as both a name and a mantle. understood what 00:04:29.459 --> 00:04:31.620 it was to live in silence and shadow, to carry 00:04:31.620 --> 00:04:33.879 a curse that did not belong to you. With patience, 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:35.560 he taught her to wield music and movement as 00:04:35.560 --> 00:04:37.800 a weapon against despair, rather than serve it. 00:04:37.939 --> 00:04:39.899 Through his guidance, she learned to blend the 00:04:39.899 --> 00:04:41.720 discipline of the body in the harmony of the 00:04:41.720 --> 00:04:44.480 spirit. Her martial strikes were rhythm, her 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:47.259 meditations were song. The shamisen, once a simple 00:04:47.259 --> 00:04:49.639 betrayal, became a bridge, a way to honor those 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:51.680 who lost by wielding it against foes, like the 00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:54.339 demon who had tricked her. In time, she earned 00:04:54.339 --> 00:04:56.790 the title of Lunar herself. a beacon for the 00:04:56.790 --> 00:04:59.329 broken. Though she cannot see or hear, she feels 00:04:59.329 --> 00:05:01.610 the world in ways others cannot. Through vibration, 00:05:02.029 --> 00:05:04.569 through intuition, through three threads of spirit, 00:05:04.769 --> 00:05:06.689 she is brushed against in the night of her fire. 00:05:07.649 --> 00:05:09.930 Now her lonely travel is needed as a luminary, 00:05:10.069 --> 00:05:12.810 silent but unhealing, a black shamson slung across 00:05:12.810 --> 00:05:15.470 her back. She carries as both a curse and a blessing, 00:05:15.610 --> 00:05:18.069 protective almost to a fault of those in need 00:05:18.069 --> 00:05:21.050 and the downtrodden. Every step she takes is 00:05:21.050 --> 00:05:23.730 both penance and promise. She pleads not for 00:05:23.730 --> 00:05:26.350 applause, but for truth. Because somewhere, the 00:05:26.350 --> 00:05:29.910 demon still watches, listens to her songs, waiting 00:05:29.910 --> 00:05:34.629 for the encore. And she will learn its name. 00:05:36.589 --> 00:05:40.470 Thank you, Kriven. Whoa, super cool luminary 00:05:40.470 --> 00:05:42.189 concept. I mean, I usually cut these down a lot, 00:05:42.250 --> 00:05:44.110 right? I couldn't bring myself to trim any details 00:05:44.110 --> 00:05:45.550 from this story, because it was pretty awesome. 00:05:45.850 --> 00:05:49.910 A lot of thrills and chills. Honestly, he said 00:05:49.910 --> 00:05:56.860 the whole thing to me, so all that. That's the 00:05:56.860 --> 00:06:00.040 kind of storytelling you can expect if you listen 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:03.740 to... Explorers of Elmer Hall. Yeah. I had to 00:06:03.740 --> 00:06:05.279 plug down further, but if you want to plug now, 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:10.240 let's do a plug now. Plug, plug, plug. Yes, Kriven's 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:12.519 got a podcast, Explorers of Elmer Hall. Check 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:14.079 it out and join his party of unlikely heroes. 00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:17.220 In one particular case, extremely unlikely hero. 00:06:18.279 --> 00:06:20.699 As they travel the tundras of Mordoon and learn 00:06:20.699 --> 00:06:24.259 what it means to be a man. Speaking of plugs. 00:06:24.680 --> 00:06:27.360 Oh, no. There's more plugs? Kriven's on the Discord. 00:06:27.560 --> 00:06:30.209 Oh. That's right. Wait, Stephen, he's on the 00:06:30.209 --> 00:06:32.689 what? He's on the Discord. Wait, we have a Discord? 00:06:33.350 --> 00:06:35.850 We have a Discord? The Discord? Oh, shit. Actually, 00:06:36.310 --> 00:06:39.110 sometimes he goes out and he posts for online 00:06:39.110 --> 00:06:41.149 games he runs. Oh, yeah, yeah. He throws them 00:06:41.149 --> 00:06:44.750 out there. Kriven runs about 6 ,000 games weekly. 00:06:44.930 --> 00:06:47.870 So if you get a chance, you want to play a fun 00:06:47.870 --> 00:06:50.529 one -shot with Kriven, get in there, check it 00:06:50.529 --> 00:06:52.850 out, and join his Discord. He's got his own Discord. 00:06:52.949 --> 00:06:58.279 He's got his own Discord. Hell yeah. Well, gentlemen, 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:01.839 Taurus season is officially over and spook time 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:04.879 is here at last. Spooky season. We've barely 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:07.680 been hollow screaming at all this year. What's 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:09.240 wrong with us? What's going on? I don't know. 00:07:09.259 --> 00:07:11.560 You just did a callback. What? Taurus season. 00:07:12.220 --> 00:07:16.060 Taurus? What? Taurus. Neither of you remember 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:20.220 that? No. Okay. Like way back when. Way, way, 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:21.899 way, way, way, way, way. You said Taurus and 00:07:21.899 --> 00:07:24.339 we were both like. I thought you just said tortoise. 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:26.660 Tortoise season, yes. October. Have you been 00:07:26.660 --> 00:07:29.759 on the wiki lately or something? Don't you dare. 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:33.600 We got a wiki. No, shut up. Shut up. It's spooky 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:37.120 time for spooky podcasters. I forget like 90 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:39.579 % of things and then my brain will suddenly like 00:07:39.579 --> 00:07:42.199 find one tiny little thing from like four fucking 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:44.279 years ago. I'd be like, do you remember that? 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:47.360 No. Of course not. No. Anyways, sorry. Continue. 00:07:48.379 --> 00:07:49.839 Those old men brains. You don't know what's going 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:55.139 on with them. Keep up. You'll be here soon. Never. 00:07:55.779 --> 00:07:59.139 So I've got a little segment. I'm workshopping 00:07:59.139 --> 00:08:00.839 here. I'm going to call this. I'm workshopping. 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:03.779 I'm going to call this. Piss your pants. Jesus 00:08:03.779 --> 00:08:09.079 Christ. All right? Because it's so scary. So 00:08:09.079 --> 00:08:11.060 to start off, I have a question for you guys. 00:08:11.379 --> 00:08:14.040 Have you ever heard of two sentence horror stories? 00:08:14.620 --> 00:08:17.720 Sure. Yeah. No. You know what these are? But 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:20.339 I think the name of it. Right on the tip. Yeah. 00:08:20.439 --> 00:08:22.399 Makes sense. Okay. You got two sentences to a 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:24.920 whole horror story. Big twist. Boom, bam. Right. 00:08:25.459 --> 00:08:27.060 Some of these things are pretty solid and some 00:08:27.060 --> 00:08:29.360 of them are pretty, pretty bad. In either case, 00:08:29.480 --> 00:08:31.600 I find them very amusing and I want to share 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:33.940 a few of them with you guys. Okay. I've got a 00:08:33.940 --> 00:08:36.159 couple here from the annals of Reddit, the natural 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:41.179 birthplace of fine writing. Hey, stop it. I want 00:08:41.179 --> 00:08:43.620 to read them to you. I want to get your reviews. 00:08:43.820 --> 00:08:45.159 these thrilling tales. And then we're all going 00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:47.700 to do a two -sentence horror story. God, that's 00:08:47.700 --> 00:08:50.679 next week. No, we can do it. Let's do it on time. 00:08:50.840 --> 00:08:53.179 We've got to really dig into these things, okay? 00:08:53.580 --> 00:08:55.919 I want one out of five stars. No, I don't want 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:57.759 stars. I want scary jack -o' -lanterns. I want 00:08:57.759 --> 00:08:59.899 one out of five scary jack -o' -lanterns, okay, 00:08:59.980 --> 00:09:02.580 for each story. What's the range? Is one terrible? 00:09:03.100 --> 00:09:06.299 Five is super scary? Yes, yes, yes. One is, five 00:09:06.299 --> 00:09:08.360 is like, okay, all right. Are you ready for this? 00:09:08.539 --> 00:09:09.659 You're going to put your phone that close to 00:09:09.659 --> 00:09:11.299 the mic? I'm going to hold it over here and barely 00:09:11.299 --> 00:09:13.830 read it. Okay. Really close to all three. Damn 00:09:13.830 --> 00:09:20.470 it. Tinder is completely useless. Hang on. Sorry. 00:09:20.649 --> 00:09:23.049 Let me get some spooky music for this spooky 00:09:23.049 --> 00:09:26.789 story. Hang on. It's not plugged back in yet. 00:09:26.929 --> 00:09:32.909 Oh, shit. That makes sense. The real horror story. 00:09:33.370 --> 00:09:35.690 Technical difficulties. No, I didn't plug mine 00:09:35.690 --> 00:09:39.789 in either. It's both of us. It's both of us. 00:09:40.709 --> 00:09:42.529 We haven't done this in a couple weeks. We're 00:09:42.529 --> 00:09:44.330 great at this. No, it's a silvery boy. We are 00:09:44.330 --> 00:09:47.289 professional podcasters. Right? I'm pretty sure 00:09:47.289 --> 00:09:49.110 it's a... What do you want from me? It's there. 00:09:49.149 --> 00:09:50.590 There it is. There it is. Got it. Steven, you 00:09:50.590 --> 00:09:54.190 didn't help at all. Just go home. We don't need 00:09:54.190 --> 00:09:56.009 you in this episode. Oh, my God. All right, ready? 00:09:56.529 --> 00:10:00.330 You ready? We're ready. Tinder is completely 00:10:00.330 --> 00:10:04.029 useless, and I don't have a single match. If 00:10:04.029 --> 00:10:05.610 I don't find another way to start a campfire 00:10:05.610 --> 00:10:09.970 tonight, I'll freeze to death. How spook was 00:10:09.970 --> 00:10:12.250 that? Honestly, I thought you meant the website. 00:10:12.710 --> 00:10:14.769 Well, that's a point. It's a twist. It's the 00:10:14.769 --> 00:10:17.570 twist. Oh, no, that's stupid. Yeah, yeah. That's 00:10:17.570 --> 00:10:19.629 more of a comedy. I'm giving that three jack 00:10:19.629 --> 00:10:21.250 -o' -lanterns at least. I give that one. That 00:10:21.250 --> 00:10:24.750 was just funny. Out of five? Okay, it was funny. 00:10:24.750 --> 00:10:27.070 It was comedic. Can I be fully frank with you? 00:10:27.070 --> 00:10:28.590 If you're giving that a one, we need a lower 00:10:28.590 --> 00:10:32.149 scale. It wasn't... I was just confused. That's 00:10:32.149 --> 00:10:35.750 a real stinker. That was like a friggin'... That 00:10:35.750 --> 00:10:39.230 was... Comedic. It wasn't scary. I hate that 00:10:39.230 --> 00:10:42.330 the word Tinder is like, that word is changing 00:10:42.330 --> 00:10:47.509 its definition. Here, this one kind of kicks 00:10:47.509 --> 00:10:50.750 ass. This is a good one. Ready? They say you 00:10:50.750 --> 00:10:53.370 die once when you stop breathing. And a second 00:10:53.370 --> 00:10:55.330 time when someone says your name for the last 00:10:55.330 --> 00:10:58.389 time. Sitting alone in my dilapidated apartment 00:10:58.389 --> 00:11:01.830 for years now, I realize it's not always in that 00:11:01.830 --> 00:11:05.179 order. That's slaps, right? That's great. Yeah, 00:11:05.179 --> 00:11:06.360 that was pretty good. That's good. That was better. 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:08.419 Extensive dreads? Yeah, yeah. Okay. All right. 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:10.539 All right. How many jack -o' -lanterns? I mean, 00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:12.039 based off the first one, I'm going to give that 00:11:12.039 --> 00:11:14.039 four jack -o' -lanterns. Okay. Yeah, I'll give 00:11:14.039 --> 00:11:15.840 that 3 .5. I'll give it a four. I'll give it 00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:20.179 a four for it. Okay. Let's move on. It's me or 00:11:20.179 --> 00:11:22.960 the dog, she said with a hard look in her eye. 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:26.759 Of course I chose her. She had a lot more meat 00:11:26.759 --> 00:11:30.340 on her than that scrawny Pomeranian. It's cannibalism. 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:33.059 I give that a two because I knew it was coming. 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:35.240 Okay, you got it. Oh, really? Yeah, that was 00:11:35.240 --> 00:11:37.320 very predictable. All right, you'll never see 00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:38.840 this one coming. You'll never see this one coming. 00:11:38.860 --> 00:11:42.299 Are you ready for this? Okay. The babysitter 00:11:42.299 --> 00:11:44.500 called to say my kids wouldn't stop staring at 00:11:44.500 --> 00:11:52.759 her. I don't have kids. So you discovered the 00:11:52.759 --> 00:12:01.789 rather fascinating contradiction. I'm giving 00:12:01.789 --> 00:12:05.110 that five jack -o -lanterns. Nine jack -o -lanterns. 00:12:05.110 --> 00:12:07.169 The fucking rules. The fucking rules. All right. 00:12:07.350 --> 00:12:11.970 Oh, my God. Imagine your phone rings. Hi, this 00:12:11.970 --> 00:12:17.970 is your babysitter. It's just... All right. All 00:12:17.970 --> 00:12:20.210 right, you guys got one? You guys got a two -sentence 00:12:20.210 --> 00:12:21.090 horror story? We got one more. We got one more. 00:12:21.190 --> 00:12:23.450 Jesus. One more. Okay. I got one in mind. Ready? 00:12:23.529 --> 00:12:26.960 I got one. All right. An elderly woman approached 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:30.299 me in panic. Come, we need to run. I ran with 00:12:30.299 --> 00:12:32.600 her until I asked, who are you running from? 00:12:32.919 --> 00:12:39.799 And she smiled, from me. Ooh. Nope, that's a 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:44.820 one. That's the last one. Who's scared of a little 00:12:44.820 --> 00:12:50.000 old lady? Well, right, but also like... I don't 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:52.019 understand the scenario. The scenario's weird. 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:53.840 Yeah, the scenario's pretty confusing. She's 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:59.700 running too. We got to run. I don't know. Anyway, 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:04.419 that was my two sentence horror stories. Do you 00:13:04.419 --> 00:13:07.120 have an actual one? A David two sentence horror 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:08.940 story? Oh, gosh. No, I haven't thought this through. 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:11.360 I can try to make one up. You guys got one? Yeah, 00:13:11.419 --> 00:13:13.279 I can make one up. Yeah, I can do one. Make one 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:15.000 up. You got to play the music, though. Oh, shit. 00:13:15.019 --> 00:13:20.080 Sorry. I pulled down my pants. That was only 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:23.440 one sentence. I wasn't done. I wasn't done. Shit. 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:26.450 I pulled down my pants. My God. And pissed in 00:13:26.450 --> 00:13:29.870 the studio. Wow. There's something in the air. 00:13:30.049 --> 00:13:31.850 We've been talking about piss a lot. I know. 00:13:32.309 --> 00:13:35.330 So the weird thing is that my two -sentence horror 00:13:35.330 --> 00:13:43.789 story is also piss -related. Go ahead. I'm trying. 00:13:44.009 --> 00:13:49.590 I'm trying. Went piss in a public urinal. Didn't 00:13:49.590 --> 00:13:59.570 shake enough. 200 jack -o' -lanterns. That's 00:13:59.570 --> 00:14:04.190 a horror story. That is... Just thinking about 00:14:04.190 --> 00:14:06.610 it. Yeah. God. They would walk around Lowe's 00:14:06.610 --> 00:14:08.570 with a... Somebody needs to make a movie about 00:14:08.570 --> 00:14:11.289 that. A couple too many drips. It's bad. It's 00:14:11.289 --> 00:14:13.250 a bad time. It's bad on hikes. This is a podcast 00:14:13.250 --> 00:14:20.909 for men over 30, apparently. Apparently. I got 00:14:20.909 --> 00:14:23.129 nothing. I got nothing. Really? I got nothing. 00:14:23.330 --> 00:14:25.389 Wow. I didn't even pay him enough to all these 00:14:25.389 --> 00:14:28.960 geniuses. How do I... He called us geniuses. 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:31.120 No, put it on my phone. You guys are all right. 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:38.080 Roll a dexterity saving throw. Fail. You pissed 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:42.740 your pants. Would that be dexterity or constitution? 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:46.940 Shh. You always complain about how there is no 00:14:46.940 --> 00:14:49.860 use for the constitution saving throw. It's a 00:14:49.860 --> 00:14:53.720 skill check. You just teed it up. It's the skill 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:55.899 check. There's no skills associated. Anyway, 00:14:56.059 --> 00:15:01.059 that was Piss Your Pants. True to its name. I 00:15:01.059 --> 00:15:03.059 hope you didn't get too scared, good listeners. 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:06.100 I'm sorry. I should have done a content warning 00:15:06.100 --> 00:15:09.440 before that spicy. I bet we can stick one in. 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:12.340 At the top of the show, I bet we can do an editor 00:15:12.340 --> 00:15:14.340 Jeremy or something and be like, hey, we say 00:15:14.340 --> 00:15:17.460 piss a lot in the next 10 minutes. It's really 00:15:17.460 --> 00:15:20.809 scary. Let's put this on like Shudder. On Shudder? 00:15:20.950 --> 00:15:22.490 Oh, on Shudder, yeah. I know what that means. 00:15:22.629 --> 00:15:26.409 It's a horror movie streaming site, right? Oh, 00:15:26.429 --> 00:15:29.370 yeah. So like Tinder? Tinder, but for horror. 00:15:29.490 --> 00:15:32.750 Tinder for horror movies? Yeah. What are we here 00:15:32.750 --> 00:15:35.049 for? Are we playing a game or what's going on? 00:15:35.169 --> 00:15:37.750 Are we actually going to play D &D? We had a 00:15:37.750 --> 00:15:41.730 week off, right? I hate Lost. I love Lost, but 00:15:41.730 --> 00:15:43.590 I hate it. The soundtrack's so good. Almost done. 00:15:43.690 --> 00:15:46.389 Next week. I can't do it. You almost finished? 00:15:46.629 --> 00:15:48.570 Three episodes away. Oh, God. We're going to 00:15:48.570 --> 00:15:49.929 finish it, and we'll talk about next week, and 00:15:49.929 --> 00:15:52.470 Stephen cannot wait. That's his bonus story. 00:15:53.590 --> 00:15:56.850 Make it like bonus content or something. Bonus 00:15:56.850 --> 00:16:00.750 content, David and Jeremy talk Lost. I'm about 00:16:00.750 --> 00:16:04.269 to finish Lost, David said. Stephen groaned, 00:16:04.269 --> 00:16:09.539 knowing what was coming next week. I'll give 00:16:09.539 --> 00:16:14.080 it two pumpkins. All right. Let's get into it. 00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:19.940 Jules and Blanche, you stand in the thick forest 00:16:19.940 --> 00:16:22.679 of Talentapec, the foot of a volcano known as 00:16:22.679 --> 00:16:25.100 Jade Mount. I'd say a wool ways from the foot 00:16:25.100 --> 00:16:27.039 of a volcano. You've been moving swiftly, getting 00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:30.539 away from this eruption, an imminent eruption. 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:34.899 You are beaten and burned, exhausted beyond belief. 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:38.200 In fact, I want a con save from both of you. 00:16:38.779 --> 00:16:50.980 Oh. Ten. Ten. Oh, it's the cloak. No. Seven. 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:55.899 Seven. Fuck. Both of you have one level of exhaustion. 00:16:57.039 --> 00:17:00.700 Now, you've been, hey, you've been moving through, 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:03.409 you were pushing through this. Rough terrain, 00:17:03.769 --> 00:17:07.029 climbed a mountain, went through a tunnel, got 00:17:07.029 --> 00:17:12.049 into a crazy temple, fought a fire god, and escaped, 00:17:12.269 --> 00:17:16.009 barely, with your lives. So you get negative 00:17:16.009 --> 00:17:18.009 one, what you were doing with the 2024 way, which 00:17:18.009 --> 00:17:22.170 is negative one to all checks, D20 rolls. And 00:17:22.170 --> 00:17:23.269 it's actually kind of funny, I think they... 00:17:23.740 --> 00:17:26.039 canonized in 2024 that six levels of exhaustion 00:17:26.039 --> 00:17:27.640 would be your death. So if that was the case 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:29.259 back in Sunset Seon, Jules would have been, like, 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:31.339 literally at death's door by the end of the arc. 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:32.700 I think we were at negative five at the end. 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:35.799 Jesus Christ. Yeah, super scary. So you're feeling 00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:38.420 it, the two of you. Your lungs are filled with 00:17:38.420 --> 00:17:41.259 the sting of smoke. Heavy sweat fills your clothing. 00:17:41.900 --> 00:17:44.140 In this moment, Akio, having looked back to admonish 00:17:44.140 --> 00:17:47.460 an ally that is no longer there, turns quickly 00:17:47.460 --> 00:18:05.880 back to you, Blanche. He's gone! He reaches his 00:18:05.880 --> 00:18:08.059 mouth back to start untying the sheathed sword, 00:18:08.299 --> 00:18:14.319 Ichigenka, from his armor. Akiyo, uh... Sword 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:22.190 in mouth. Ichigenka belongs to you now. His ears 00:18:22.190 --> 00:18:29.529 fully stand up, eyes go wide. Mr. Blanche, I 00:18:29.529 --> 00:18:34.589 don't understand. My humble Snoop deserves no 00:18:34.589 --> 00:18:38.470 such honor. I couldn't possibly... Don't say 00:18:38.470 --> 00:18:44.569 that about yourself, Akio. As the last disciple 00:18:44.569 --> 00:18:50.359 of Ozen, you wield his sword well. Perhaps better 00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:54.720 than myself. You heard Emon say it himself. You 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:58.779 wield the sword well. I also acknowledge your 00:18:58.779 --> 00:19:04.299 skill and prowess with it. My strength comes 00:19:04.299 --> 00:19:08.559 more from my spellcasting. As such, it is... 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:11.759 Well, it is most beneficial to our party that 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:17.289 you take Master Ozen's sword. Now your words, 00:19:17.289 --> 00:19:21.490 his tail is wagging furiously. His big eyes are 00:19:21.490 --> 00:19:27.750 welling up with tears. I shall wield it for some 00:19:27.750 --> 00:19:33.029 short time then. I am an old dog. You will have 00:19:33.029 --> 00:19:35.390 your blade back before long, but I will be its 00:19:35.390 --> 00:19:39.130 keeper for now. Until my breath runs out, I shall 00:19:39.130 --> 00:19:41.630 wield Ichigenga with the pride and honor of becoming 00:19:41.630 --> 00:19:46.230 of an old samurai. And he sheathed the blade. 00:19:46.990 --> 00:19:50.849 Since Master Ozen, nobody has had more pride 00:19:50.849 --> 00:19:55.430 or honor to wield it than you. Hell yeah. I will 00:19:55.430 --> 00:19:59.029 update Akio's sheet later. Hell yeah. With Ichigenka 00:19:59.029 --> 00:20:05.789 as a permanent fixture. Damn. As you. Share this 00:20:05.789 --> 00:20:08.390 heartfelt scene. Another violent tremor runs 00:20:08.390 --> 00:20:11.049 to the ground. Birds launch on the treetops all 00:20:11.049 --> 00:20:12.750 around. Their panic chatter filling the air. 00:20:13.890 --> 00:20:17.650 As they swarm into the sky, a tree comes crashing 00:20:17.650 --> 00:20:20.569 down somewhere to your left and you see cracks 00:20:20.569 --> 00:20:22.630 being formed at the edge of your sight. Yellowish 00:20:22.630 --> 00:20:25.809 gases venting out into the forest. Behind you, 00:20:25.849 --> 00:20:28.190 magma continues to pool out of the tunnel carved 00:20:28.190 --> 00:20:30.549 near the summit of the volcano from whence you 00:20:30.549 --> 00:20:33.109 left. The smoke billowing from the caldera is 00:20:33.109 --> 00:20:37.539 growing thicker. In the sky above and before 00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:41.079 you, five figures are flying your way, taking 00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:44.019 a V formation in the air. The two on either side 00:20:44.019 --> 00:20:45.900 look to be humans and dwarves dressed in simple 00:20:45.900 --> 00:20:48.740 garb ash -gray cloaks. The one in the center, 00:20:48.759 --> 00:20:51.680 though, is a different story. A tiefling woman 00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:54.980 in a cloak of stark white, one that flares and 00:20:54.980 --> 00:20:58.759 flows out the hips like a gown. She has crimson 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:00.819 skin. I think I said white in the last episode, 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:05.380 but I'm dumb. crimson skin that gleams like it 00:21:05.380 --> 00:21:07.440 is coated by a collection of tiny interlocked 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:10.859 rubies. Between her pointed horns, three long 00:21:10.859 --> 00:21:13.519 braids flitter in the wind. She's coming quite 00:21:13.519 --> 00:21:17.480 close to you now. She has clocked you and she 00:21:17.480 --> 00:21:20.680 is moving down your way. The others are kind 00:21:20.680 --> 00:21:23.039 of coming in, sort of keeping a distance behind 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:25.519 and sort of staying in the air as she comes down 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:28.240 to meet you. Do you want to do a history check 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:30.170 to see what you know about this figure? Does 00:21:30.170 --> 00:21:32.130 not need to be a high one. She is well known 00:21:32.130 --> 00:21:35.369 to the Conqueror Worlds. Actually, Jules, you 00:21:35.369 --> 00:21:37.349 should take advantage because you have seen this 00:21:37.349 --> 00:21:41.910 figure in action before. Okay. Plus three. Ooh, 00:21:42.069 --> 00:21:49.490 dirty 20. Nice. I got the same roll. Okay. Yeah, 00:21:50.109 --> 00:21:53.339 it's only a 10. Okay. Oh, no, not the same role 00:21:53.339 --> 00:21:59.160 as Steven. 320s? Madness. Okay. What you know 00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:01.440 is this. You know the name of the figure, and 00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:03.799 you know when you saw her before. Okay. You know 00:22:03.799 --> 00:22:07.480 that this is a figure known as Zopa Reborn. She 00:22:07.480 --> 00:22:10.839 was one of the luminaries that helped pull the 00:22:10.839 --> 00:22:12.619 sapphire, pull the people from the sapphire at 00:22:12.619 --> 00:22:15.200 the start. She is one of the top luminaries. 00:22:15.220 --> 00:22:18.759 I believe she is number four now that the pig 00:22:18.759 --> 00:22:20.819 man is gone, number five at that time. Jeez. 00:22:21.210 --> 00:22:25.450 Okay. Let's fight her. Let's do it. Blanche, 00:22:25.490 --> 00:22:27.589 you know a lot more than this. You've hit the 00:22:27.589 --> 00:22:29.390 books. Maybe you know a bit about the other sort 00:22:29.390 --> 00:22:32.650 of major luminaries out there. You know Zobo 00:22:32.650 --> 00:22:34.930 was born on Telempec under a different name and 00:22:34.930 --> 00:22:37.490 in the body of a dwarven male. It was a body 00:22:37.490 --> 00:22:39.690 that did not fit her, and so she gave her life 00:22:39.690 --> 00:22:42.940 in the pursuit of change, quite literally. She 00:22:42.940 --> 00:22:44.900 trained hard in the druidic arts of Teletopec, 00:22:44.900 --> 00:22:46.599 eventually joining a group of what would mechanically 00:22:46.599 --> 00:22:48.779 be called Wildfire Druids that in this world 00:22:48.779 --> 00:22:51.779 are known as the Watchers of the Ashes. She was 00:22:51.779 --> 00:22:54.019 a prolific power in this field and managed to 00:22:54.019 --> 00:22:57.720 master a spell known as Reincarnate that allows 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:00.039 one that has passed to return to life in a new 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:03.920 body. Assisted by her fellow Watchers, Zopa engaged 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:06.019 in a dangerous ritual and was reborn in the form 00:23:06.019 --> 00:23:11.630 you see now. She is, uh... She is powerful. That 00:23:11.630 --> 00:23:15.990 is completely bonkers. Is it bonkers? Isn't it 00:23:15.990 --> 00:23:19.410 bonkers? Be like, I'm going to voluntarily die 00:23:19.410 --> 00:23:23.190 so that I can not be a... Die knowing you got 00:23:23.190 --> 00:23:26.410 the whole magical schwing going on, you know? 00:23:26.430 --> 00:23:27.690 Yeah, but I just feel like... Die with absolute 00:23:27.690 --> 00:23:30.930 certainty that death is not death. Yeah, so certainty 00:23:30.930 --> 00:23:33.230 being the word that I'm a little hung up on. 00:23:33.289 --> 00:23:37.109 I would be really nervous to be like, okay. I'm 00:23:37.109 --> 00:23:39.509 going to die now. Well, you're not a master of 00:23:39.509 --> 00:23:41.710 the druidic craft. No, I'm definitely not. I 00:23:41.710 --> 00:23:44.509 mean, it is the belief on Tletepec, you've seen 00:23:44.509 --> 00:23:46.049 it time and again, heard it time and again here, 00:23:46.210 --> 00:23:49.049 that with destruction comes new growth. With 00:23:49.049 --> 00:23:51.710 death comes new life. When a volcano erupts and 00:23:51.710 --> 00:23:54.450 burns away the jungle, what grows back is more 00:23:54.450 --> 00:23:57.490 beautiful and fruitful than ever before. So perhaps 00:23:57.490 --> 00:24:00.650 this is just another way of this philosophy being 00:24:00.650 --> 00:24:04.269 shown to the people of this world. As yet, another 00:24:04.269 --> 00:24:06.789 tremor. More violent than the last, rips through 00:24:06.789 --> 00:24:09.970 the ground. Zopa drops to the ground before you, 00:24:10.069 --> 00:24:14.250 and you see up close that she is beautiful. Despite 00:24:14.250 --> 00:24:16.670 her flight, her makeup is subtle and immaculate. 00:24:16.670 --> 00:24:19.009 Her eyes, lined in black, sport irises that are 00:24:19.009 --> 00:24:21.369 a far deeper red than her skin, flecked with 00:24:21.369 --> 00:24:24.849 bits of gleaming gold. Her expression is surprisingly 00:24:24.849 --> 00:24:28.410 calm. There's a sense of ease around her, entirely 00:24:28.410 --> 00:24:31.049 awed at the danger building in the round, the 00:24:31.049 --> 00:24:35.990 world around you. Another tree. falls nearby. 00:24:36.930 --> 00:24:39.630 Without even looking at it, she speaks, her eyes 00:24:39.630 --> 00:24:43.490 sweeping over both of you. Is Jade Mount the 00:24:43.490 --> 00:24:47.829 surge source? The ash rise has come. A surge 00:24:47.829 --> 00:24:49.890 has been sent to the plane of fire, threatening 00:24:49.890 --> 00:24:53.289 to start a chain reaction with other nearby volcanoes. 00:24:54.150 --> 00:24:57.150 It will spread, and the world will be consumed 00:24:57.150 --> 00:25:01.769 in fire and ash. I suspected Jade Mount was the 00:25:01.769 --> 00:25:05.119 source of this. Keep your answer brief, please. 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:07.839 You see one of the figures, Sopa, we gotta go! 00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:10.880 Up top, sort of flying around. She does not look 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:14.259 to them. Her eyes say, fixed on you, eerily, 00:25:14.279 --> 00:25:17.119 eerily calm. How fitting for the pyrophite to 00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:23.359 show up now. Yes. Slight smile. Ow. Yes, jade 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:28.359 mount is erupting. Wait here. Stay safe. It will 00:25:28.359 --> 00:25:30.539 be dangerous for you to move around if you panic. 00:25:31.299 --> 00:25:34.210 And she looks at the others. Let us proceed with 00:25:34.210 --> 00:25:37.009 the ritual. Channel to me, and I will take point 00:25:37.009 --> 00:25:42.750 in the caldera. And she launches into the sky. 00:25:42.750 --> 00:25:44.910 You see the figures all move around. They're 00:25:44.910 --> 00:25:47.549 retaking that same V formation, zooming over 00:25:47.549 --> 00:25:49.970 your heads, over the jungle, over towards the 00:25:49.970 --> 00:25:53.410 smoking caldera of Jade Mount. And then you see 00:25:53.410 --> 00:25:56.390 the four other figures take point around the 00:25:56.390 --> 00:26:01.210 caldera as she dies into the smoke. You see a 00:26:01.210 --> 00:26:04.029 show of light. It's so hard from here. Just tiny 00:26:04.029 --> 00:26:06.630 little ants way up there at the top. You can 00:26:06.630 --> 00:26:07.990 barely make them out. And they kind of vanish 00:26:07.990 --> 00:26:11.230 as the thaw, as the smog sort of thickens. And 00:26:11.230 --> 00:26:14.750 they are entirely gone. As you look up, you can 00:26:14.750 --> 00:26:20.289 see bits of light flashing somewhere in the smog. 00:26:20.869 --> 00:26:24.309 Do we get a sense, like, is she more powerful 00:26:24.309 --> 00:26:27.950 than us? I think you'd know she probably is, 00:26:28.049 --> 00:26:31.759 given her ranking. She would be, I believe, let 00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:33.059 me look at this. I have the rank right here, 00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:38.599 actually. Do you remember Handsome Jai? Yes. 00:26:38.900 --> 00:26:41.660 Stronger than him. He was pretty scary. Okay. 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:47.140 You feel another crack split the earth nearby. 00:26:47.259 --> 00:26:49.380 You feel tremors begin to build and build. You 00:26:49.380 --> 00:26:54.000 hear a sound like a far off gunshot. It's not 00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:55.640 from Jade Mountain. You look over and see the 00:26:55.640 --> 00:26:59.619 volcano begins to churn out black, black smoke 00:26:59.619 --> 00:27:04.180 somewhere to the north. And the chemmers die 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:08.839 down and stop. The smog begins to lift and clear 00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:11.619 over Jade Mountain, over the other volcano to 00:27:11.619 --> 00:27:15.500 the north. And everything becomes calm again. 00:27:16.339 --> 00:27:21.259 With my decent history check, I don't know if 00:27:21.259 --> 00:27:25.759 I missed it, but... Does Blanche know what quote 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:29.960 -unquote class? Yes, wildfire druid. Oh, that's 00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:33.220 right. You said druid. So she's particularly 00:27:33.220 --> 00:27:36.500 talented in the arts of fire. Fire. But she is 00:27:36.500 --> 00:27:38.039 a druid. She's purpose -built for this. She has 00:27:38.039 --> 00:27:43.339 some connection with the forces of nature. You 00:27:43.339 --> 00:27:46.099 see as the rumbling dies, there's a vent of steam. 00:27:47.069 --> 00:27:49.190 like pressure release from the top of Jade Mound. 00:27:49.250 --> 00:27:52.150 The other figures sort of fall back and out of 00:27:52.150 --> 00:27:56.329 the steam, the figure in white flies up into 00:27:56.329 --> 00:28:02.029 the air and swoops down back towards you. She 00:28:02.029 --> 00:28:04.450 drops down in the same place just before you. 00:28:04.630 --> 00:28:07.210 The other figures you see zoom overhead, heading 00:28:07.210 --> 00:28:11.509 back somewhere to the west towards Shoshotla 00:28:11.509 --> 00:28:16.319 and civilization. Bazopa turns to you. What did 00:28:16.319 --> 00:28:20.720 you do down there? I have stopped the ash rise. 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:27.519 How? A ritual. We have perfected it over the 00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:31.779 last six. This would have been the seventh ash 00:28:31.779 --> 00:28:35.660 rise. Doomsday has come for this world seven 00:28:35.660 --> 00:28:39.960 times now. And it's been stopped seven times 00:28:39.960 --> 00:28:47.059 now. This happened after we... killed the elemental 00:28:47.059 --> 00:28:50.619 who dwelt there. Is that what happened the other 00:28:50.619 --> 00:28:57.039 six times? Roll an insight check for me. Oh! 00:28:58.420 --> 00:29:03.440 21. 21. You get two pieces of information here. 00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:07.640 Firstly, since she's come back, there has been 00:29:07.640 --> 00:29:09.759 something that does not show on her face. Her 00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:13.099 face is porcelain. But there is something in 00:29:13.099 --> 00:29:20.089 her eyes. A concern, a fear, a vast weariness. 00:29:20.170 --> 00:29:21.910 Whatever she just did, you can tell it took a 00:29:21.910 --> 00:29:25.390 lot out of her. And as much as she wants to make 00:29:25.390 --> 00:29:29.549 you feel calm, there is little calm in her. The 00:29:29.549 --> 00:29:31.529 other thing you note is when you ask that question, 00:29:31.609 --> 00:29:34.690 when you mention the elemental, you see surprise. 00:29:35.890 --> 00:29:39.890 She kind of looks to the side thinking... Yeah, 00:29:39.910 --> 00:29:44.109 Blanche is just waiting for an answer. I... Do 00:29:44.109 --> 00:29:47.529 not know of an elemental. There are elementals 00:29:47.529 --> 00:29:51.009 around most volcanoes here. They are connected 00:29:51.009 --> 00:29:54.650 intrinsically to the plane of fire, so it is 00:29:54.650 --> 00:29:59.309 not strange to see them in the jungles. So there 00:29:59.309 --> 00:30:03.670 has been no catalyst the other six times? No. 00:30:03.769 --> 00:30:07.809 It happens seemingly at random? Not at random. 00:30:07.910 --> 00:30:11.829 We have ways of telling when it may come, being 00:30:11.829 --> 00:30:15.630 prepared. In this case, We were not. This was 00:30:15.630 --> 00:30:18.109 a surprise to us. It is deeply fortunate that 00:30:18.109 --> 00:30:20.990 we are scouting nearby. We rarely travel so far 00:30:20.990 --> 00:30:24.710 out from the observatory. But we happen to see 00:30:24.710 --> 00:30:29.789 the coming destruction. Smoke and the wind. I'd 00:30:29.789 --> 00:30:34.329 be eager to hear more of what caused it. I have 00:30:34.329 --> 00:30:38.289 a request for you. One that may be to your benefit. 00:30:39.190 --> 00:30:41.569 As Blanche is listening, she reaches into her 00:30:41.569 --> 00:30:44.819 bag and she grabs a... A little snack, seeing 00:30:44.819 --> 00:30:51.160 how tired she is and hands it over. Oh, for her. 00:30:51.319 --> 00:30:53.940 Oh, so I'll take it to Jeremy. So I was like, 00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:57.940 see how tired she is. Hey, Jules, eat the snack. 00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:00.440 Yeah, Jules, look how exhausted this luminary 00:31:00.440 --> 00:31:02.539 is. Let's share a snack about it. Just staring 00:31:02.539 --> 00:31:05.859 along the way. Is that trail mix? Is that mole 00:31:05.859 --> 00:31:11.690 on trail mix? It's mole flavored. Jerky trail 00:31:11.690 --> 00:31:17.869 mix. Damn. Honestly, I'd try that. Yeah, I'll 00:31:17.869 --> 00:31:20.329 do anything once. You offer a snack. I think 00:31:20.329 --> 00:31:21.890 there's a moment of you reaching out and she 00:31:21.890 --> 00:31:25.789 is holding back. And she looks into your eyes, 00:31:25.829 --> 00:31:30.650 looks at the proffered gift. And she just kind 00:31:30.650 --> 00:31:32.950 of smiles a little bit and sighs and lets her 00:31:32.950 --> 00:31:36.430 shoulders kind of sag like she's done keeping 00:31:36.430 --> 00:31:41.220 the mask on. Yes. I will accept, thank you. Don't 00:31:41.220 --> 00:31:43.960 patronize us. I know you're quite powerful, but 00:31:43.960 --> 00:31:48.640 we are luminaries as well. Oh, believe me. I 00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:51.660 know who you are, Blanche Turrell. George LaRoche. 00:31:52.339 --> 00:31:54.420 And how does it make you feel that we are here? 00:31:55.539 --> 00:31:59.700 I have complex feelings in many regards, but 00:31:59.700 --> 00:32:02.259 I don't see you as heralds of any destruction. 00:32:03.460 --> 00:32:07.099 I am one of the few who knows the truth of our 00:32:07.099 --> 00:32:11.779 worlds. I know of Shadrakhan. I know of what 00:32:11.779 --> 00:32:17.259 you face. My people, the Watchers of the Ashes, 00:32:17.339 --> 00:32:20.039 are stationed primarily at the Twin Gods Observatory. 00:32:20.779 --> 00:32:22.700 If you intend to return to Shashortlight, it 00:32:22.700 --> 00:32:26.579 is not far off your path. Did you... Did you 00:32:26.579 --> 00:32:28.700 happen to buy a map from the map store back in 00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:34.250 Shashortlight? It's been a couple of weeks. I'll 00:32:34.250 --> 00:32:38.509 need a reminder. I don't think we... This is 00:32:38.509 --> 00:32:44.190 stupid. She points it out to you. Oh, yeah, the 00:32:44.190 --> 00:32:45.930 map. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. There's a 00:32:45.930 --> 00:32:47.710 map store. That's how we found it. Right across 00:32:47.710 --> 00:32:51.910 from the Molly shop. I would ask that you join 00:32:51.910 --> 00:32:55.029 me there tonight to feast, to rest, and to talk. 00:32:55.789 --> 00:32:57.549 If you are willing to tell, I'd like to know 00:32:57.549 --> 00:32:59.930 why you are here and what you experienced at 00:32:59.930 --> 00:33:02.089 Jade Mount, the full story or whatever you're 00:33:02.089 --> 00:33:04.950 willing to tell me. And there is another matter, 00:33:04.990 --> 00:33:08.809 too. Like I said, I know well who you are and 00:33:08.809 --> 00:33:11.430 what great matters are balanced upon your shoulders. 00:33:12.410 --> 00:33:15.609 I hope to aid you in a sense, to outfit your 00:33:15.609 --> 00:33:19.089 minds with tools of understanding. I'm sorry, 00:33:19.210 --> 00:33:24.420 my phone just... It's always you. It is a text. 00:33:24.480 --> 00:33:27.839 It's always your phone. I am becoming soon BRB. 00:33:28.460 --> 00:33:31.140 She puts her phone away. Understanding who ruined 00:33:31.140 --> 00:33:41.500 the recording. Will you come? Could you help 00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:45.519 heal exhaustion? Believe it or not, starting 00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:53.460 that earthquake or volcano eruption. It was quite 00:33:53.460 --> 00:33:57.880 tiring. It was just a little exhausting. At least 00:33:57.880 --> 00:34:03.039 one level of exhausting. If I had to put a number 00:34:03.039 --> 00:34:06.119 on it. Let me take a look. Okay. Lesser Restoration 00:34:06.119 --> 00:34:10.119 is not doing anything with exhaustion. She shakes 00:34:10.119 --> 00:34:13.159 her head. This I cannot help you with. Only a 00:34:13.159 --> 00:34:14.940 rest can help you. But I can help you in a different 00:34:14.940 --> 00:34:18.570 way, I think. She has two things. First, she 00:34:18.570 --> 00:34:20.409 reaches over and she's going to cast Cure Wounds. 00:34:20.449 --> 00:34:22.329 No need to roll die. You'll have time to do a 00:34:22.329 --> 00:34:24.349 thing, but she's going to at least help some 00:34:24.349 --> 00:34:27.690 of the burn. You guys are still stinging her. 00:34:27.869 --> 00:34:30.389 You just came out of a harrowing fight. That 00:34:30.389 --> 00:34:32.329 fight was fucking awesome, by the way. Dang it, 00:34:32.389 --> 00:34:33.849 that was a good fight. Emmett's shoes were on 00:34:33.849 --> 00:34:40.289 fire. His shoes were... She heals you both. You 00:34:40.289 --> 00:34:42.570 feel warmth wash over you as your wounds close 00:34:42.570 --> 00:34:46.389 just a bit. She heals Akio. And then she's going 00:34:46.389 --> 00:34:49.710 to cast Fly. on all three of you. Whoa. Hell 00:34:49.710 --> 00:34:52.050 yeah. Since Ebonrath took the Rod of Flying with 00:34:52.050 --> 00:34:54.349 him. No, bullshit. No, no, no. It's God. No, 00:34:54.409 --> 00:34:56.789 I was thinking about that earlier and I was like, 00:34:56.809 --> 00:35:00.650 I was like, okay, do I say out loud in words, 00:35:00.809 --> 00:35:04.170 in human words, I took the Rod of Flying back 00:35:04.170 --> 00:35:08.010 and I said, and I said, no, you know what? David's 00:35:08.010 --> 00:35:11.690 a half reasonable person. I don't need to interrupt 00:35:11.690 --> 00:35:16.869 whatever he's doing to... No. Shame on you. That's 00:35:16.869 --> 00:35:19.389 stupid of you, dude. I say no. You see him flying 00:35:19.389 --> 00:35:22.250 off, a little speck in the distance, star in 00:35:22.250 --> 00:35:26.789 the sky. No, no, no, no, no. She gets flying. 00:35:26.949 --> 00:35:29.789 You still have the rod. With her rod on her back, 00:35:29.929 --> 00:35:34.329 slung across her back, Blanche flies away. You 00:35:34.329 --> 00:35:38.409 guys going? Yeah. Yeah. I think she takes to 00:35:38.409 --> 00:35:41.849 the skies, hoping that you will fall in behind 00:35:41.849 --> 00:35:44.679 and perhaps. We see all our characters in Keo. 00:35:45.179 --> 00:35:49.940 This is weird. Can Jules be riding a Keo while 00:35:49.940 --> 00:35:51.860 they're flying? Hell yeah, you can. There's no 00:35:51.860 --> 00:35:53.480 rules. If you're both flying. Yeah, with his 00:35:53.480 --> 00:35:56.980 cloak just flapping in the wind. There's no rules 00:35:56.980 --> 00:35:59.199 in this game made of rules. This is the Radiant 00:35:59.199 --> 00:36:06.219 Citadel version of Falcor. Yes. I'm riding Falcor. 00:36:14.440 --> 00:36:19.539 And our party... Falcon punch! We see our party 00:36:19.539 --> 00:36:22.019 take to the skies above the forests, between 00:36:22.019 --> 00:36:26.760 the mountains of Tlatelpec, launching their way 00:36:26.760 --> 00:36:32.860 towards a new destination. That was fun and nice. 00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:37.269 I think it's time. We get back to the not -so 00:36:37.269 --> 00:36:39.809 -fun, not -so -nice bad stuff that's going on 00:36:39.809 --> 00:36:41.570 with you guys, right? I knew this was too good 00:36:41.570 --> 00:36:43.309 to last. Oh, it's been a minute since you got 00:36:43.309 --> 00:36:48.050 pretty dark in the show. Dark in the pants. It's 00:36:48.050 --> 00:36:51.949 dark in there. A little bit of piss. Oh, I'm 00:36:51.949 --> 00:36:54.989 about to piss on you guys a lot. Please don't. 00:36:56.929 --> 00:37:00.469 Let's slide somewhere else. We're going to open 00:37:00.469 --> 00:37:04.079 on the Radiant Citadel and the Ugly Coyote. where 00:37:04.079 --> 00:37:06.300 we see Jean, Gabriela, Arhalon, Ader, and the 00:37:06.300 --> 00:37:09.119 Cherry Delights, and Dresden, are all gathered 00:37:09.119 --> 00:37:11.699 around the screen in the Ugly Coyote watching 00:37:11.699 --> 00:37:15.360 a breaking news broadcast on Ader's new crystal 00:37:15.360 --> 00:37:20.420 projector. Oh yeah, that's right. There's been 00:37:20.420 --> 00:37:22.400 a period of stillness for the last week or so 00:37:22.400 --> 00:37:25.900 where little has changed and developed. It seems, 00:37:25.920 --> 00:37:27.519 though, that things are moving behind the scenes 00:37:27.519 --> 00:37:32.159 of the network of the conquered worlds again. 00:37:33.369 --> 00:37:37.829 As you watch a montage of clips that keep driving 00:37:37.829 --> 00:37:40.050 more and more spikes of horror into all of your 00:37:40.050 --> 00:37:43.590 guts. Mass arrests have been made in this last 00:37:43.590 --> 00:37:47.610 day. As Atash has begun to weed out the corruption 00:37:47.610 --> 00:37:49.570 and influential businesses throughout the world. 00:37:50.070 --> 00:37:52.869 A continuation, it is said, of his efforts with 00:37:52.869 --> 00:37:54.909 Yitzmin on Sansatyan. So you guys helped start 00:37:54.909 --> 00:37:57.150 this. You got that ball rolling. And now we're 00:37:57.150 --> 00:37:59.840 going to see where that ball goes. Speaking of 00:37:59.840 --> 00:38:01.699 Saint -Etienne... Wait, hold on. How did we start 00:38:01.699 --> 00:38:04.159 this? Can you slow down for a second? Huh? You 00:38:04.159 --> 00:38:06.360 helped him weed out the corruption in Saint -Etienne. 00:38:06.480 --> 00:38:08.440 You helped him prove that a lot of these influential 00:38:08.440 --> 00:38:10.139 businesses are pretty bad. Hitzman Del Prado? 00:38:10.280 --> 00:38:15.280 Bad dude. He's just continuing the work. So just 00:38:15.280 --> 00:38:18.820 because we exposed the awful corruption of Hitzman 00:38:18.820 --> 00:38:21.699 Del Prado, now he's just there and he's like, 00:38:21.800 --> 00:38:24.360 okay, I'm gonna... The world's want to see more 00:38:24.360 --> 00:38:27.000 of this justice. The ratings were fantastic. 00:38:28.519 --> 00:38:31.519 Two of the first faces you see are those of Paloma 00:38:31.519 --> 00:38:35.659 and Grindy. Both frozen in crystal prisons, their 00:38:35.659 --> 00:38:40.239 faces locked in states of rage. Dresden, you 00:38:40.239 --> 00:38:42.059 feel that belt of dwarven kind tied around your 00:38:42.059 --> 00:38:44.219 hip as well as the scorpion tail dagger of venom 00:38:44.219 --> 00:38:47.340 that hangs in its sheath. Wonders of magical 00:38:47.340 --> 00:38:52.280 craft, both gifts from a now damned woman. Oh, 00:38:52.360 --> 00:38:54.340 that reminds me, I haven't been doing rolls to 00:38:54.340 --> 00:38:57.780 grow a beard. Give me a roll to see if you have 00:38:57.780 --> 00:39:00.539 a beard. I want to see how sad you look. Let's 00:39:00.539 --> 00:39:07.820 go. How many rolls do you owe us? A lot. Give 00:39:07.820 --> 00:39:10.800 me one roll to see if you grew a beard before 00:39:10.800 --> 00:39:17.380 this morning. One? One roll. I have a 50 % chance. 00:39:18.500 --> 00:39:21.199 I have a 50 % chance each day of growing a full 00:39:21.199 --> 00:39:23.550 beard. Roll a d20. Sure. 1 through 10. Disadvantage. 00:39:23.550 --> 00:39:25.730 You have no beard. Disadvantage. 11 through 20, 00:39:25.730 --> 00:39:27.710 you have a beautiful, glorious dwarven beard. 00:39:27.809 --> 00:39:32.949 Perfect. Seven. Ah, you're good. You shaved already. 00:39:33.630 --> 00:39:36.070 All right, he's still sexy, Dresden. It's coming 00:39:36.070 --> 00:39:38.030 in a little hairy. You're generous. You're generous. 00:39:38.869 --> 00:39:42.889 I don't want 20 rolls right now. Could have at 00:39:42.889 --> 00:39:45.289 least given him disadvantage. Dresden Kellig, 00:39:45.409 --> 00:39:50.849 you no longer have a sponsor. You see a number 00:39:50.849 --> 00:39:53.679 of others. are mentioned as well and shown on 00:39:53.679 --> 00:39:55.739 the screen, all preserved in that same horrid 00:39:55.739 --> 00:39:58.260 way. You see that many of these figures are owners 00:39:58.260 --> 00:40:00.039 of companies from various worlds, some of which 00:40:00.039 --> 00:40:03.139 are as high profile as Marfil. You see Amir Nur, 00:40:03.360 --> 00:40:06.880 president of Koragar Concoctions from Taib. Looks 00:40:06.880 --> 00:40:10.199 like Handsome Jai no longer has a sponsor. You 00:40:10.199 --> 00:40:13.619 see Margus Ruba, king of Zinda's Tavern and Intrade. 00:40:13.960 --> 00:40:16.260 And fun fact, it's actually Nargus Ruba in the 00:40:16.260 --> 00:40:19.000 book. I just can't read with an N. But anyway. 00:40:19.840 --> 00:40:24.139 You see Margus Ruba. You see Pepper the Haringon. 00:40:24.539 --> 00:40:27.659 No, fuck off. Too far. Arrested for an old assault 00:40:27.659 --> 00:40:30.480 charge from early on in his life when God's breath. 00:40:31.179 --> 00:40:33.760 He has been frozen in an expression of helpless 00:40:33.760 --> 00:40:37.059 pleading. You can vaguely make out the stain 00:40:37.059 --> 00:40:39.239 of tears in the fur of his cheeks as his crystal 00:40:39.239 --> 00:40:43.000 prison moves through a spot of light and jewels 00:40:43.000 --> 00:40:47.280 the roche. You no longer have a sponsor. Hold 00:40:47.280 --> 00:40:53.469 on. No. No, hold on, hold on. Yeah. Pepper, the 00:40:53.469 --> 00:40:56.190 Haringan. We established in the scene way back 00:40:56.190 --> 00:40:58.550 when with Justin Skellig breaking into the coyote 00:40:58.550 --> 00:41:00.750 that he does have a criminal record. Justin threatened 00:41:00.750 --> 00:41:04.409 to expose it. Atash and Rune simply made use 00:41:04.409 --> 00:41:09.889 of it. So he's now... Gone. As the last of the 00:41:09.889 --> 00:41:11.650 prisoners are taken onto the turquoise Concord 00:41:11.650 --> 00:41:13.829 Jewel and sent off to the Sky Prison, the sounds 00:41:13.829 --> 00:41:17.409 of cheers slowly dying down. The broadcast comes 00:41:17.409 --> 00:41:20.809 to a somber end. At least here in the Coyote, 00:41:20.809 --> 00:41:26.690 everyone else is celebrating. Ader looks up to 00:41:26.690 --> 00:41:28.590 see Gabriella moving to the shelf and quietly 00:41:28.590 --> 00:41:30.769 picking up the crystal projector. He just doesn't 00:41:30.769 --> 00:41:33.449 have to wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Gabriella 00:41:33.449 --> 00:41:35.230 casually dropkicks the projector through a table. 00:41:37.389 --> 00:41:41.289 Awkwardly turns back to Aether. Sorry. Johto 00:41:41.289 --> 00:41:45.389 buy you a new one. Again. Is that another 300 00:41:45.389 --> 00:41:47.949 gold? Probably. Give me 300 more gold. Yeah. 00:41:49.130 --> 00:41:54.570 And let's leave that scene. Because we're not 00:41:54.570 --> 00:42:05.059 done yet. No. We are not done yet. We open on 00:42:05.059 --> 00:42:08.019 the strange, otherworldly space that is the top 00:42:08.019 --> 00:42:12.739 floor of the House of Convalescence. A platform 00:42:12.739 --> 00:42:17.139 suspended in a sky of swirling gray clouds. A 00:42:17.139 --> 00:42:21.440 sapphire, pulsing blue, resting on a pedestal. 00:42:22.059 --> 00:42:25.239 We see Runru's song as... What's the word here? 00:42:25.940 --> 00:42:29.079 It says poaching. It's not the word I wanted. 00:42:29.139 --> 00:42:32.400 It's the word for when you're... Pacing? Pacing, 00:42:32.579 --> 00:42:34.539 thank you. I couldn't think of the word. Poaching? 00:42:34.760 --> 00:42:38.159 Hey. Poaching? Poaching. We all have our days. 00:42:39.079 --> 00:42:42.920 Poaching some eggs. Back and forth. Some of us 00:42:42.920 --> 00:42:44.699 can write a good two -sentence horror story and 00:42:44.699 --> 00:42:47.400 some of us can't. Hey, shut up. I'll show you 00:42:47.400 --> 00:42:49.739 a horror story. Just listen. Make it two sentences. 00:42:50.559 --> 00:42:53.579 Casting a tall shadow in the sapphire's light, 00:42:53.800 --> 00:42:57.760 he stops and looks up suddenly, smiling wickedly 00:42:57.760 --> 00:43:03.139 as Atash And Salome move through the clouds into 00:43:03.139 --> 00:43:06.039 this chamber. Rune doesn't cast a tall shadow 00:43:06.039 --> 00:43:10.500 anywhere. The light's like that sometimes. He's 00:43:10.500 --> 00:43:12.280 close to the sapphire. The light's like, shut 00:43:12.280 --> 00:43:16.699 up. Angles. Rune immediately almost like jumps 00:43:16.699 --> 00:43:20.239 towards Atash almost very excitedly. So how did 00:43:20.239 --> 00:43:23.000 the meeting with the speakers go? And Atash just 00:43:23.000 --> 00:43:29.469 steps forward. You see a rare smile. It is done. 00:43:30.010 --> 00:43:34.449 Those deemed as luminary adventurers now answer 00:43:34.449 --> 00:43:38.630 directly to me. I've also used this opportunity 00:43:38.630 --> 00:43:42.510 to finally pluck the wings off of a few buzzing 00:43:42.510 --> 00:43:47.469 insects. An example to those that may be hesitant 00:43:47.469 --> 00:43:51.489 to follow my command. You may make the announcement 00:43:51.489 --> 00:43:55.699 at your pleasure. And Rune's, like, rubbing his 00:43:55.699 --> 00:44:00.059 hands. My pleasure, indeed. You see, he looks 00:44:00.059 --> 00:44:02.679 run down. His rounded glasses aren't quite large 00:44:02.679 --> 00:44:04.920 enough to fully cover the dark circles beneath 00:44:04.920 --> 00:44:09.619 his eyes. Natash sort of pours into him. This 00:44:09.619 --> 00:44:12.260 matter should have been dealt with some time 00:44:12.260 --> 00:44:15.800 ago. I've been told that Blanche and Jules have 00:44:15.800 --> 00:44:20.119 left the Citadel again in the wake of your incompetence. 00:44:20.340 --> 00:44:25.019 I was set up, okay? Those Grimisk... When I find 00:44:25.019 --> 00:44:28.639 out who... Look, look, look, look, look. I've 00:44:28.639 --> 00:44:31.380 got it under control. It's fine, right? Who needs 00:44:31.380 --> 00:44:35.239 blackmail when you're already on top? And the 00:44:35.239 --> 00:44:38.000 stirrings of certain recordings spreading around? 00:44:39.019 --> 00:44:43.019 Ones that involve you and... Lies! Lies! And 00:44:43.019 --> 00:44:45.460 under control. And what about your own problems, 00:44:45.579 --> 00:44:48.099 hmm? I've heard your forces back home are feeling 00:44:48.099 --> 00:44:50.940 the lion's bite again, huh? The silent roar has 00:44:50.940 --> 00:44:56.599 its voice back, huh? Not. For long, justice will 00:44:56.599 --> 00:45:01.619 find a singer. A peal of thunder rings through 00:45:01.619 --> 00:45:04.260 the chamber, lightning flashing in the black 00:45:04.260 --> 00:45:07.659 clouds, and a voice booming over everything, 00:45:07.820 --> 00:45:12.460 cutting everyone off and down. Do not fret over 00:45:12.460 --> 00:45:17.300 small annoyances. Our victory is all but assured. 00:45:18.300 --> 00:45:22.579 Soleil is taken. The fractured horn cowers in 00:45:22.579 --> 00:45:27.010 the shadows. Unification awaits for only one 00:45:27.010 --> 00:45:32.690 final push. Let us move on to discussions of 00:45:32.690 --> 00:45:38.289 the coming assault. Something gets very still 00:45:38.289 --> 00:45:40.809 in the Roman room, kind of. It's the first one 00:45:40.809 --> 00:45:43.590 to speak. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Shouldn't 00:45:43.590 --> 00:45:45.849 we talk about this, you know, the angel in the 00:45:45.849 --> 00:45:48.769 room here? The smaller one, I mean. Should she 00:45:48.769 --> 00:45:51.940 be privy to this kind of intel? Please. Pointing 00:45:51.940 --> 00:45:54.599 a thumb towards you, Salome. I think everyone 00:45:54.599 --> 00:45:57.119 kind of looks at you as if for the first time, 00:45:57.139 --> 00:46:01.079 realizing that you are there. Salome is totally 00:46:01.079 --> 00:46:06.139 chill. I was like, you did some pretty clever 00:46:06.139 --> 00:46:09.440 shit last time Salome was on screen. I, David, 00:46:09.639 --> 00:46:11.099 only when I was pointing to the Discord realized 00:46:11.099 --> 00:46:13.840 that you had some fun with the little speech 00:46:13.840 --> 00:46:16.539 I gave you that I didn't realize. You snuck a 00:46:16.539 --> 00:46:19.880 justice on dying in there. You ended it off with 00:46:19.880 --> 00:46:23.599 a very vague statement that seemed to imply that 00:46:23.599 --> 00:46:26.800 perhaps the true luminaries weren't Tosh and 00:46:26.800 --> 00:46:31.960 those loyal. The thing is, David didn't catch 00:46:31.960 --> 00:46:35.940 it. So I can't in any conscience say that anybody 00:46:35.940 --> 00:46:40.320 else did either. You son of a bitch. Sneaky, 00:46:40.320 --> 00:46:42.340 sneaky. Honestly, you wrote it, so I'm really 00:46:42.340 --> 00:46:44.239 surprised that you didn't catch it. No, he changed 00:46:44.239 --> 00:46:46.619 words. I know, that's what I'm saying. But you 00:46:46.619 --> 00:46:48.099 wrote it. I just thought he was trying to put 00:46:48.099 --> 00:46:50.820 it inside of his voice. I abridged it. It was 00:46:50.820 --> 00:46:55.030 very loquacious. I have a certain style. Yeah, 00:46:55.130 --> 00:46:58.070 and I made it shorter. Rune wrote it, and Rune 00:46:58.070 --> 00:47:00.170 has a certain style. Was it an S .C. Lewis thing? 00:47:00.250 --> 00:47:01.789 If I had more time, I'd have written something 00:47:01.789 --> 00:47:07.010 shorter. No, that's good. I like that. And so 00:47:07.010 --> 00:47:09.170 as everyone turns to you, I think Atash is the 00:47:09.170 --> 00:47:13.090 first to speak and say, Salome has proven herself 00:47:13.090 --> 00:47:18.289 as an ally to our cause. I see no reason to remove 00:47:18.289 --> 00:47:25.469 her. Rune takes you in. There's a low rumble 00:47:25.469 --> 00:47:30.750 from the clouds around. Do you want to say anything? 00:47:31.710 --> 00:47:34.469 I mean, if everybody's looking at Salome expecting 00:47:34.469 --> 00:47:37.309 her to say something, then she will. What's the, 00:47:37.429 --> 00:47:42.309 like, give me the, can I roll a vibe check? Yeah. 00:47:42.510 --> 00:47:47.150 Roll insight. Okay, great. Roll vibe. Roll vibes. 00:47:47.849 --> 00:47:50.880 Roll vibes. I've been in these sort of scenarios 00:47:50.880 --> 00:47:53.139 before and if I can say nothing and just things 00:47:53.139 --> 00:47:55.519 will happen around me, that's exactly what I 00:47:55.519 --> 00:48:02.679 want to do. 16. Atash firmly thinks you should 00:48:02.679 --> 00:48:06.079 be here. You get the feeling Atash wants another 00:48:06.079 --> 00:48:10.139 Celestial around in this sort of conspiracy group. 00:48:11.179 --> 00:48:14.000 You get the feeling Atash despises Rune, despite 00:48:14.000 --> 00:48:16.139 what Rune has done for him. Rune has eventually 00:48:16.139 --> 00:48:18.119 given him control over the network after he'd 00:48:18.119 --> 00:48:21.699 burned all his resources back on Sansatyan. What 00:48:21.699 --> 00:48:24.739 Atash, I think, sees you being here as a way 00:48:24.739 --> 00:48:26.639 of kind of like shifting the balance of power 00:48:26.639 --> 00:48:30.360 away from Rune, kind of getting caught up in 00:48:30.360 --> 00:48:33.059 the Sapphire's good graces. Rune is clever. Rune 00:48:33.059 --> 00:48:36.599 is good at pulling strings. Rune does not want 00:48:36.599 --> 00:48:39.699 you here. Rune... Is the opposite of Atash. He 00:48:39.699 --> 00:48:41.900 sees what Atash wants, and he wants to avoid 00:48:41.900 --> 00:48:44.820 that. The sapphire or the 16, you have no idea. 00:48:45.119 --> 00:48:47.460 You just get the impression that this faceless 00:48:47.460 --> 00:48:51.880 gem is looking right at you, unblinking. Without 00:48:51.880 --> 00:48:56.440 saying anything, Salome will walk closer to Atash 00:48:56.440 --> 00:49:00.139 within a step or two, and she'll stand next to 00:49:00.139 --> 00:49:02.659 Atash. She'll cross her hands in front of her 00:49:02.659 --> 00:49:16.389 body and stand and wait. She may stay. Shifting 00:49:16.389 --> 00:49:20.309 in the clouds, grimness grows in the faces of 00:49:20.309 --> 00:49:24.530 your cohorts. Something is building a tension, 00:49:24.750 --> 00:49:27.710 a different kind of storm, and you realize the 00:49:27.710 --> 00:49:33.969 real talk is about to begin. Freedom Ironworks! 00:49:35.130 --> 00:49:37.590 Atash turns to Rune, saying these two words. 00:49:38.670 --> 00:49:41.510 All dealt with. Our people are calling the shots 00:49:41.510 --> 00:49:43.730 now. And Kedra Kamal will have his requesting 00:49:43.730 --> 00:49:48.070 opponents for his, uh, project. He looks pointed 00:49:48.070 --> 00:49:50.630 to Salamaze, he kind of trails off there, and 00:49:50.630 --> 00:49:53.030 turns back to Atash. I'll need you to keep a 00:49:53.030 --> 00:49:54.949 heavy guard on the shipments, though. And I think 00:49:54.949 --> 00:49:58.090 a good old tail to spin to ward away the curious 00:49:58.090 --> 00:50:00.429 would be in order. I'll think of something. If 00:50:00.429 --> 00:50:02.510 all goes well, he'll have everything he needs. 00:50:03.719 --> 00:50:07.559 Then we will give him time enough to see results. 00:50:08.039 --> 00:50:12.360 Two months. Begin seeding resentment against 00:50:12.360 --> 00:50:15.420 the incarnates now, and we should have full public 00:50:15.420 --> 00:50:22.360 support by that time. I agree. We have the luminaries. 00:50:22.579 --> 00:50:26.619 We have the shield -bearers. We have the freedom 00:50:26.619 --> 00:50:31.059 to move my celestials through the Citadel. Three 00:50:31.059 --> 00:50:37.989 armies. For should Kajal's work bear fruit, this 00:50:37.989 --> 00:50:43.610 will be more than enough. Nagroon sort of, his 00:50:43.610 --> 00:50:47.369 eyes flicker to you, Salome. He kind of, you 00:50:47.369 --> 00:50:52.829 want to explain? And Atash turns down to you. 00:50:53.769 --> 00:50:59.690 He's so large, so all -encompassing. And yet 00:50:59.690 --> 00:51:01.909 something seems so small about him bathed in 00:51:01.909 --> 00:51:07.860 the light of that. Sapphire. And he speaks. In 00:51:07.860 --> 00:51:12.219 order to unify our worlds, in order to forge 00:51:12.219 --> 00:51:16.320 a final, everlasting peace, we need only remove 00:51:16.320 --> 00:51:24.210 one obstacle. Well, 24 obstacles. You might have 00:51:24.210 --> 00:51:25.849 figured from Shelly's little stunt, but the Arural 00:51:25.849 --> 00:51:28.110 Diamond can do a lot more than serve as a gate 00:51:28.110 --> 00:51:30.650 between worlds. It's connected to the mind of 00:51:30.650 --> 00:51:34.050 every single being on the worlds. One spell cash 00:51:34.050 --> 00:51:37.050 in the central node and bam! Eternal peace. And 00:51:37.050 --> 00:51:39.550 prosperity for those involved in bringing it 00:51:39.550 --> 00:51:44.130 along. Only issue is, the Donin cards need to 00:51:44.130 --> 00:51:46.510 be in full support. Any one of them can veto 00:51:46.510 --> 00:51:51.309 the spell and immediately disrupt it. I can afford... 00:51:53.420 --> 00:51:56.639 Not a single one will raise a claw to see our 00:51:56.639 --> 00:52:00.920 quest fulfilled. The Sunwave would be ashamed 00:52:00.920 --> 00:52:10.239 to see us now. We cannot convince them. So, we 00:52:10.239 --> 00:52:17.340 will remove them all. In two months' time, I 00:52:17.340 --> 00:52:19.300 am going to lead an assault on the preserve of 00:52:19.300 --> 00:52:23.840 the Ancestors and on the Dawn Incarnate. Ozen 00:52:23.840 --> 00:52:27.000 alone was able to nearly defeat the sapphire 00:52:27.000 --> 00:52:30.860 livern. A peal of thunder, a flash of lightning, 00:52:31.000 --> 00:52:38.880 a dangerous topic. Imagine, then, what can be 00:52:38.880 --> 00:52:43.079 done with four armies, with trained shield -bearers 00:52:43.079 --> 00:52:46.800 armed with Sansa -chan magic steel, with a sky 00:52:46.800 --> 00:52:49.420 filled with the beating wings of our celestial 00:52:49.420 --> 00:52:53.099 kin. With the power of each and every luminary 00:52:53.099 --> 00:52:56.940 adventurer worthy enough to stand by my side. 00:52:57.340 --> 00:53:01.219 And with Keto's own brilliance revealed in the 00:53:01.219 --> 00:53:05.960 heat of war. In two months, the auroral diamond, 00:53:06.300 --> 00:53:09.460 the very power of the Sunweaver, will be ours 00:53:09.460 --> 00:53:15.619 to command. And we will see his dream fulfilled. 00:53:17.519 --> 00:53:27.989 Yeah. At last, my children, they will know peace 00:53:27.989 --> 00:53:38.150 beneath the warmth of my guiding light. There's 00:53:38.150 --> 00:53:45.329 a pause here. Standing next to Atash, Salome 00:53:45.329 --> 00:53:50.940 turns to face him and gets on her knees. and 00:53:50.940 --> 00:53:53.900 reaches her arms out in like a half prostrate. 00:53:56.199 --> 00:54:02.260 Which, which spoke is the weakest, Atash? Where, 00:54:02.519 --> 00:54:11.300 how may I help the most? A worthy question. The 00:54:11.300 --> 00:54:15.159 shield bearers will need leadership, but Ariat 00:54:15.159 --> 00:54:18.900 should return by that time, his own mission fulfilled. 00:54:19.949 --> 00:54:25.869 Once Kajal's is. No. My greatest fear, the number 00:54:25.869 --> 00:54:31.650 of luminaries that are leaving my support. This 00:54:31.650 --> 00:54:36.750 undercurrent, this justice undying has done damage. 00:54:37.650 --> 00:54:43.329 We have lost forces. Forces that could come to 00:54:43.329 --> 00:54:51.750 turn against us in our time of glory. You can 00:54:51.750 --> 00:54:56.530 be a voice for the luminaries. You can work among 00:54:56.530 --> 00:55:03.250 them. Help them see the light. Anyone who speaks 00:55:03.250 --> 00:55:08.929 against our plans. Anyone who would turn their 00:55:08.929 --> 00:55:15.769 sight towards lesser luminaries and their callings. 00:55:17.550 --> 00:55:19.869 She bends further down and further prostrates 00:55:19.869 --> 00:55:27.409 herself. Equip me with your power. Equip me with 00:55:27.409 --> 00:55:34.769 the ability to turn them. Holy shit. You son 00:55:34.769 --> 00:55:36.590 of a bitch. Holy shit. Would you want a magic 00:55:36.590 --> 00:55:38.309 item? Is that what you're getting out of here? 00:55:38.690 --> 00:55:41.750 Huh? Roll a persuasion check. Okay. Roll a persuasion 00:55:41.750 --> 00:55:45.949 check. Ah, fuck. Do I have any buttons? I don't... 00:55:46.159 --> 00:55:48.539 know that i do there's a button here and a green 00:55:48.539 --> 00:55:50.679 i think that's yours that might be my button 00:55:50.679 --> 00:55:52.099 i think that's your button you want to give me 00:55:52.099 --> 00:55:54.739 that button yeah because that's my tray the gray 00:55:54.739 --> 00:55:56.760 tray is over here i think the green tray is yours 00:55:56.760 --> 00:55:59.039 so i think that's your button i'm gonna need 00:55:59.039 --> 00:56:01.380 it because i've got a plus zero to persuasion 00:56:01.380 --> 00:56:03.860 oh my gosh i can't believe you're doing this 00:56:03.860 --> 00:56:11.550 fuck me in the face it's a 13 13 Did you just 00:56:11.550 --> 00:56:15.250 say fuck me in the face? I need something that's 00:56:15.250 --> 00:56:20.309 like hyperbolic, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. She 00:56:20.309 --> 00:56:24.110 has proven herself. She is like almost full -on 00:56:24.110 --> 00:56:27.849 prostrate in front of these people. Of course. 00:56:28.489 --> 00:56:33.280 I will see it done. Atash. Our budget isn't exactly, 00:56:33.500 --> 00:56:35.440 you know, we're tied up in a lot of things right 00:56:35.440 --> 00:56:40.500 now. Do not question the abilities of Atash and 00:56:40.500 --> 00:56:45.619 the Sapphire Wyvern. And Salome lifts her head 00:56:45.619 --> 00:56:49.420 and scornfully stares at Rune. Rune shrinks away. 00:56:49.559 --> 00:56:52.400 Atash kind of looks down, smiles, and he does 00:56:52.400 --> 00:56:57.920 kind of... He does speak some amount of wisdom, 00:56:58.000 --> 00:57:05.199 though. A rare occasion. But we can outfit you 00:57:05.199 --> 00:57:10.820 in some manner. Following this episode, if Salome 00:57:10.820 --> 00:57:13.579 doesn't find a way to die in this scene, you 00:57:13.579 --> 00:57:16.440 may pick a magic item that I would value less 00:57:16.440 --> 00:57:20.460 than 2 ,000 gold. Damn. And that may join your... 00:57:20.460 --> 00:57:21.800 A higher roll would have gotten you a higher 00:57:21.800 --> 00:57:23.960 value item. Yeah, yeah. I think this is cool. 00:57:24.119 --> 00:57:25.960 That was a stinker. And you've been very clever 00:57:25.960 --> 00:57:30.820 with Salome. I like this a lot. Will Rune see 00:57:30.820 --> 00:57:35.860 to my outfitting? I think you just see him kind 00:57:35.860 --> 00:57:37.820 of like he looks like he's going to say something. 00:57:38.679 --> 00:57:41.179 He looks up at Atash, who's just glaring down 00:57:41.179 --> 00:57:42.699 at him. I think he finally kind of looks back 00:57:42.699 --> 00:57:44.739 to you and you realize Rune is useful, but he 00:57:44.739 --> 00:57:47.360 is the punching bag here. He is the butt monkey 00:57:47.360 --> 00:57:51.320 of this conspiracy. And I think him also realizing 00:57:51.320 --> 00:57:54.340 that he kind of just like face gets a little 00:57:54.340 --> 00:58:00.500 red beneath his glasses and he kind of. It is 00:58:00.500 --> 00:58:06.099 my absolute pleasure to serve you, Salome, seeing 00:58:06.099 --> 00:58:11.199 as how you are loyal to our cause. There's something 00:58:11.199 --> 00:58:16.659 there, some level of distrust, and you might 00:58:16.659 --> 00:58:20.500 think, rolling over your earlier insight, that 00:58:20.500 --> 00:58:24.619 you should be careful with Runru's song. Salome 00:58:24.619 --> 00:58:33.539 stands up. turns to Rune, and gives a half bow. 00:58:34.659 --> 00:58:40.179 I am forever grateful, and you shall bask in 00:58:40.179 --> 00:58:51.380 our victory. Oh, I will. The promises. But that 00:58:51.380 --> 00:58:56.909 is talk for after the assault. Yes. There is 00:58:56.909 --> 00:59:04.389 much to plan yet. But at this time, all is in 00:59:04.389 --> 00:59:11.969 order. The clouds rumble with agreement. You 00:59:11.969 --> 00:59:15.489 feel this meeting is starting to die down. Status 00:59:15.489 --> 00:59:18.750 update and little more. But perhaps playing your 00:59:18.750 --> 00:59:21.050 cards will be privy to more meetings to come. 00:59:22.349 --> 00:59:24.230 Though the time may come where you want to find 00:59:24.230 --> 00:59:27.369 ears to speak to, because you have so much intel, 00:59:27.710 --> 00:59:31.130 Salome. And there's little you can do with it 00:59:31.130 --> 00:59:38.030 yourself. Salome. I think there's a moment as 00:59:38.030 --> 00:59:41.550 voices drone on. I think you hear Atash begin 00:59:41.550 --> 00:59:47.230 to speak. There is only now the Marlon. How do 00:59:47.230 --> 00:59:53.170 you have that from? Voices that seem to fade 00:59:53.170 --> 00:59:59.150 before you, plunged into water. As your mind 00:59:59.150 --> 01:00:02.329 is overtaken by a very familiar vision of prophecy. 01:00:04.449 --> 01:00:09.210 And you see it right there. You see it because 01:00:09.210 --> 01:00:13.349 you are a part of it. And it is so beautiful 01:00:13.349 --> 01:00:21.980 and it is so horrifying. A united world. flooded 01:00:21.980 --> 01:00:30.400 by that cold blue light. A world casting a long 01:00:30.400 --> 01:00:37.159 black shadow, and we'll call it there.